


Cross Your Mind

by IllegalCerebral



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Crossing Lines
Genre: Bringing A Team Together, Crossover, Loneliness, Missing home, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-20
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-01-20 09:40:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12430080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllegalCerebral/pseuds/IllegalCerebral
Summary: Emily is hiding in Paris while her team track down Doyle. Alone and lacking a purpose, Hotch arranges for her to meet an old friend. Apologies for the frankly awful title. I have no excuse.





	1. Chapter 1

Could silence kill you? Lying in hospital for weeks, struggling to get even a fraction of her strength back, Emily was sure it could. There were doctors and nurses sure, the incessant bleeping of machines and she was dimly aware of JJ’s presence but between that were long stretches of nothingness.

Emily Prentiss hated nothingness. Nothingness was too close to loneliness for Emily’s liking.

In Paris she would eat in restaurants and hear Rossi’s voice critiquing the food. She would wander round the museums and Reid would explain the stories behind the different paintings. Derek admired the architecture with her and Garcia oohed and ahhed over the French fashions. When Emily sat in the park and watched families playing she could hear Jack and Henry laughing while JJ and Hotch cheered them on. 

It was partly a coping mechanism and partly a way to distract herself. The nothingness was at the door. There were only so many places Emily could visit and JJ’s work in the Middle East meant that they were restricted in how much time they could talk online. There was only so much online Scrabble one person could play anyway. Hotch was busy with the team and with Jack though he made a point of calling her at least once a month but refused to discuss cases with her.

JJ suggested starting a hobby but apparently going to the shooting range didn’t count. Knitting, cooking, reading, soccer, salsa dancing, painting. Nothing appealed, nothing set off that spark inside her. The only thing that had was working at the BAU. The thought made Emily want to cry and scream for a number of different reasons and she said as much to Hotch when he called to check up on her. The phone went quiet for a moment.

“I have an idea” said Hotch slowly.

“Sounds ominous”

“I’m not making any promises but I may know someone who can help. Just let me make sure it’s safe.”

Emily didn’t hear anything for a week. She was lounging in her apartment, working her way through a stack of Godard movies and wondering if it was worse than Doyle’s torture when her phone beeped. It was a message from Hotch.

May have solved your problem. Can you meet a friend of mine tomorrow at 10am at the Café Victoire? He’s 100% trustworthy, I promise.

Emily swallowed, her fingers shaking. After a moment she texted back a yes and tried to settle back down to finish the film, her mind whirring.

The Café Victoire was quintessentially French. It was cosy and quaint and the coffee was good. Emily arrived an hour early, making sure to get a table at the back where she could see all the exits. By the time the tall man approached her table she was on her third cup of coffee. 

“Are you Aaron’s friend?” he enquired in accented English. He had a soft voice and a laid back manner that put her almost at ease. Emily nodded and gestured to the seat in front of her. A waitress came over and he ordered a small white wine. Emily couldn’t help but chuckle. The man smiled back.

“You are still not used to wine in the morning?”

“Not so much” said Emily “Plus the coffee reminds me of home.” He nodded.

“I was in New York for work a number of years ago” he explained, “The coffee was amazing.” 

“Hotch didn’t explain anything about who you are or why…” Emily wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence. 

“Apologies, I wasn’t sure how much he explained. I’m Major Louis Daniel, of the  _Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire_  but I am hoping that will change soon.”

“How so?” asked Emily, her interest piqued.

“How much do you know about the ICC?” asked Major Daniel.

“The International Criminal Court? They prosecute war crimes don’t they?” said Emily with a frown. She couldn’t see where this conversation was going but she felt better already sitting there, talking with someone else in law enforcement. It was the first time in a long time she felt normal.

“They do” nodded Major Daniel as he wine arrived “I have an idea to form a task force that is based at the court and can specialise in cross border crimes. Michel Dorne, the chief prosecutor at the court is on side and we are hoping to get the idea off the ground.”

“I believe my mother worked with him a few years ago,” said Emily “He’s a good man but doesn’t Interpol deal with those sorts of crimes?”

“Yes but I hope a team of detectives and investigators from all over the Eurozone could be more direct and bring a different kind of expertise.”

“It sounds like a great idea but I don’t know how I can help,” said Emily “You know why I’m here right?” Major Daniel nodded but said nothing. “I’m still healing and there is a psychopath after me.” 

“I know” Major Daniel’s voice was gentle “I am not here to put you in danger and I can’t offer you a space on the team though someone of your calibre would be invaluable.” Emily wasn’t sure how to feel. On the one hand she knew that would be the case but she couldn’t deny that she wanted a purpose, to be an agent again and to help people.

“So what do you need?” she asked, trying to shake off the disappointment she knew she shouldn’t feel. 

“I would like to draw on your profiling skills,” said Major Daniel “Firstly as I select people to be on the team I would like your help vetting them, ascertaining their skills and identifying what role they could fill. After that I was hoping you could maybe consult on a case by case basis?”

It took every ounce of composure Emily had not to leap across the table right then and there. Instead she took a sip of her coffee and pretended to consider the offer.

“I do have a lot of spare time at the moment” she said with a small grin “And honestly I miss my work.”

“Is that a yes? We can take things at your pace, no pressure” 

“That’s a yes Major” 

“ _Fantastique!_  Now you need to have wine, we can’t toast with coffee,” grinned Major Daniel, waving the waitress back over. As they clinked their glasses Emily felt a glimmer of something familiar. It wasn’t quite home and it definitely wasn’t family but it was a sense that the nothingness was finally receding slightly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A follow up as I was interested in the parallels between the two teams

Emily grabbed the package from the courier with an almost embarrassing level of enthusiasm, mumbled a frantic thanks before hurrying back inside her apartment. She had set up the table with everything she needed, brewed a fresh pot of coffee and had even dressed as if she was heading into the office at Quantico. This was her first real chance in months to feel normal and she damn well wasn’t going to squander it.

The personnel files that Major Daniel had sent her were comprehensive, the man knew how to do his research. A brief sweeping glance indicated he had worked with all of them in some capacity briefly and based on that, along with testimonies from colleagues, he had selected them for his new cross-border task force based out of the ICC. The team would need to be multi-lingual, familiar with international law practices and have skills sets that would be particularly useful when dealing with crimes committed across borders.

* * *

 

Detective Anne-Marie San of the Police Nationale was a prime example. Emily scanned her CV first, impressive for such a young woman. Her area of expertise was human trafficking and she had worked on several task forces up and down France and the Eurozone. It took a while to get through her professional accomplishments but when it got to the personal part of her file Emily did a double take, re-reading the last passage a few times before shutting the file and climbing shakily out of the chair.

_Stupid, pull yourself together_

_Coffee, need coffee._

_Fuck._

The ringing of her phone made Emily jump as always. She still hadn’t managed to feel 100% safe all of the time in Paris. Mostly she was fine but the ringing of the damn phone still got to her.

“Major Daniel” Emily answered “I was just starting the files you sent me”

“Louis, please” said the Major smoothly “i was just checking they had arrived”

“Yup all here. I was just reading Detective San’s file”

“An impressive young woman” said Louis “ I worked with her on a sex trafficking case in the south a while back”

“There’s something in the back about an extraordinary memory” said Emily, her mouth feeling dry.

“Yes” said Louis “Her mother is a very distinguished doctor and had Anne-Marie tested for a number of conditions as a child. They discovered she had hyperthymesia, she can recall the tiniest of details perfectly, it is a great asset i the field. It helped us identify the perpetrators who were targeting young girls. She spotted a detail about one of their cars that everyone else missed.”

“Hmmm” 

“Something wrong?”

“No, not at all. It just...he reminds me of someone and it was a bit of a shock.”

There was an awkward silence and Emily immediately regretted saying anything.

“Please forget that I-”

“No, it’s quite alright’ said Louis “I can’t imagine how difficult it was leaving your team. You must see reminders everywhere.”

“I do” said Emily, softly “I didn’t expect to see them in a file though. My friend has an eidetic memory, he can reel off whole passages from books he’s read and I swear to god he has read every book in existence, not just the ones in English. He has a fact for everything: bacteria, the traffic patterns in cities the other side of the world, 12th century literature, god knows what else.”

“He sounds impressive” laughed Louis “Maybe I should offer him a job?”

“He wouldn’t leave the US” said Emily with a sad smile “His mother is sick and he dotes on he,r plus he couldn’t leave the team. He’s worse at goodbyes than me.”

Emily’s throat suddenly felt tight at the thought of Reid coming to work in Europe. Would he get special dispensation to know she was alive? He would be so mad at first but once he calmed down...

She shook the thought from her head. It wasn’t going to happen and entertaining such a ridiculous hope would only cause her pain.

“I’m sorry Louis. I will go through the files and send you my notes.”

“Please don’t push yourself Agent” said Louis, softly.

“I won’t and please call me Emily”

* * *

 

It took another hour before she could get back to the files. A good cry had been the first thing on the agenda. If dying had taught her anything it was that tears needed to come out so you deal with what caused them. Then she had taken a deep breath and allowed herself to think about the team, her family. Not the sadness of leaving them but the joy and love they had brought her. Maybe it wouldn’t be so terrible to catch glimpses of her family in others, to see their best qualities in people who also made it their mission to help others. Finally she changed back into something comfy and slumped down on the sofa, shuffling until she found the best position and opened the files again.

First was Detective Tommy McConnell of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Emily’s eyes widen at the photos accompanying  the medical report. 

“Grew up in a traveller camp and made a name for himself bare knuckle fighting” Emily mused aloud “Guess we all have ways of dealing with our pasts” The image of Derek smashing down the wall of one of his houses on a sunny afternoon popped into her mind. 

_Whether I’m breaking down doors or smashing down walls I’m making a difference._

The technical analyst Kommissar  Berger would have nothing on her own beloved Penelope Garcia but he was good humoured, technically brilliant even if he did appear to have somewhat of an addictive personality.

Next up was Sovrintendente Eva Vittoria from Italy. Her dazzling smile immediately made Emily think of JJ and she was sure that Vittoria was equally dangerous if underestimated. Much like McConnell she was in law enforcement to fight something in her past, a need to atone almost. Did JJ feel that way about her sister? 

Why hadn’t Emily ever asked?

After Sovrintendente Vittoria came Inspector Sienna Pride of the Met. Emily was surprised to see they shared a similar background, both being the daughters of politicians. She smiled wryly as she read through the Inspector’s impressive resume. Clearly she had the same ideas as Emily about rejecting the socialite lifestyle in favour of public service but she was also a perfectionist and Emily knew first hand about how compartmentalisation could look like coldness to an outsider.

The final file was the slimmest and Emily expected that this was deliberate when she began to read. Former NYPD Detective Carl Hickman had been pushed out when he was injured on a case, despite saving a child’s life in the process. The FBI had been tangentially involved with the Genovese case but it had been Andi Swan’s unit rather than the BAU. Nevertheless Emily had heard the rough details of the case, horrific as they were and she wondered why anyone would want to go back after that. Perhaps he, like Rossi, had unfinished business.

Major Daniel had added a note that he wasn’t totally sure that Hickman would want to join the team but he hoped to convince him and Emily was sure he could keep them all in line despite their eclectic differences. Louis smiled more than Hotch did though in a way he had less to smile about. 

Emily spent the day adding notes, re-reading them and building psychological profiles on the team before arranging for a courier to pick them up the next day. She slipped a small thank you note inside too and then made sure to go online to play Scrabble. She drummed her fingers on the desk as she waited for a familiar user name to pop up.

Cheetogurl: Hey, how is everything going?

Emily bit her lip, hands hovering over the keys, unsure how to respond.

Blackbirb99: I miss you guys


End file.
